Saturday, July 23, 2005

Every finisher is a champion

"The race started three weeks ago today. The peloton numbered 189riders. Now it’s down to 155 and unlikely to change. As one Euskatel rider toldme yesterday, “we all want to go home, but we don’t want to go home yet.”Meaning that the fatigue will soon be forgotten, but the memory of tomorrow’s ride up and down the Champs Elysees will last a lifetime. My point is this: The Tour de France is the pinnacle of cycling achievement (please, no emails about the RAAM). To ride in this event an aspiring cyclist has a lot of leeway. He doesn’t need to be the best racer in the world, just one of the top 189. It’s not easy to make it that far – not by a longshot (the numbers are daunting: anybody who ever pedaled around their local cul-de-sac could be considered an aspiring cyclist), but I would think that seeing it from that viewpoint would make the goal seem a little more attainable. Or maybe not, now that I think of it. The odds and numbers might be the same as making it to the NBA."